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2014 Mercedes E-Class Nabs IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Rating

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested the 2014 Mercedes-Ben E-Class and added it to its relatively small list of cars that are rated as a Top Safety Pick+. Following the Mercedes ML-Class, the E-Class is the second Benz to earn the designation.

The IIHS points out that only cars built after January 2014 are considered a Top Safety Pick+ due to improvements made to better perform in the small overlap front test. The E-Class earned a “Good” rating in the test, with the highest marks possible for head/neck, chest, and hip/thigh protection.To earn “+” designation, a car’s active front crash prevention system must also achieve a “basic,” “advanced,” or “superior” rating. Here, the 2014 E-Class (when equipped with the optional Driver Assistance Pacakge) grabbed the latter after earning the highest points possible for forward collision warning and low (12 mph) and high-speed (25 mph) autobrake. The institute is revising its collision avoidance system rating for model year 2015 cars, requiring an “advanced” rating or higher in order to be considered a Top Safety Pick+.

The 2014 E-Class is the fourth large luxury car to earn the institute’s highest rating. Other vehicles among the small group include the 2014 Acura RLX, 2015 Hyundai Genesis, and the 2014 Volvo S80.Source: IIHS

This article insinuates the E-class only makes a "+" pick because of an optional package. After looking at the pics, I'd say without the optional package the E-class has fail written all over the dummy.